Machine Head will be releasing their highly anticipated follow up to The Blackening this September. The band will release a new single, Locust, on iTunes on June 14th. The single is an advance mix of a song from the band's as-yet untitled upcoming album, set for release September 27th through Roadrunner Records.

The as-yet untitled new album is being recorded at JingleTown Studios in Oakland, with frontman Robb Flynn producing, and it is sure to level anything and everything that happens upon its path.

Said Machine Head vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn: "We've been working on the record for a few weeks now, and when the opportunity to be a part of the free Rock Star Energy Drink Mayhem Festival sampler came up, we did not want to pass up the chance. We're so pumped for our fans to hear the new music that we're so proud of."

Flynn went a little deeper about the meaning of the song, saying, "Locust is a metaphor. Locusts fly in a swarm, but they can't control which direction they fly; they float on the wind, they land, cause massive destruction, and then float away on the wind to leave you in the aftermath. The song is a metaphor for a type of person that sometimes comes into your life and has a similar effect."

Musically, the song is the essence of what Machine Head have been doing for nearly two decades. "It feels like the culmination of what we've been doing for the last 17 years: power grooves, patented Machine Head harmonics, crushing guitars and dark melodies, but taken to a new level," Flynn said. "It's a natural progression from The Blackening, but different than anything on that record. In the past, when we debuted a new song, it was usually the fastest, thrashiest tune. This time we wanted to go with something just straight-up heavy."

The song is eight minutes in length, which is not unfamiliar territory for the band. Flynn even joked, "We still can't seem to write a damn song under six minutes. But Machine Head aren't writing music for the radio or MTV. This is for us. This is for the metalhead who let's music take him on a journey. This for the metalhead for whom music is the only thing that matters, to whom music is a savior. The music fan who's going to study every detail of the artwork, go online and find the lyrics and memorize every word, and let it take them away from their fucked up life for a while. It's for the music freak, who maybe just wants to get hammered, air-guitar and sing at the top of his lungs, and act like an friggin' idiot while starting a moshpit in their living room with reckless abandon. Because that's who wrote this song, and that is the only people we care about connecting with."

Flynn finished, "We know you'll be as excited about it as we are, so Head Cases, on June 14th, check out Locust."

"The Blackening" was surprisingly awesome, and easily up there with "Burn My Eyes" as the best thing the band has ever done. Hopefully this one will be as good, or even better. xD Bring on the Locust! \m/

Awesome news! The Blackening was a great surprise, and it's probably my favourite Machine Head album. Powerfull thrashy tunes; dark melodies; and long length songs.
So the fact that new next single will be a 8 minute song makes me happy already. I hope it's accurate what Rob says about everything else about it. I'm sure he is.